SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The "Dapper Bandit," who held up a Mira Mesa check-cashing business and a bank in Point Loma in December, was sentenced Tuesday to 62 years to life in state prison.
John Richard Martinez, 42, was convicted last month of two counts of robbery. Jurors were unable to agree on whether he used a gun during the heists, which would have enhanced his punishment.
Martinez is also wanted for robberies in Fresno, Tulare County, King County and Agoura Hills, said Deputy District Attorney Melissa Vasel.
At the sentencing hearing today, Judge Frank Brown refused to "strike" the defendant's 1992 robbery conviction and a 1994 conviction for assaulting an inmate. Martinez also has convictions for bringing drugs into prison and counterfeiting.
"There ain't nothing I can do about it," the defendant told the judge. "There ain't nothing you can do about it."
Brown said the people Martinez held up in San Diego County were "scared" and "terrified," even though he had an air pistol and not a real gun.
Martinez robbed the check-cashing store Dec. 20 and got away with $1,000, holding up a U.S. Bank branch a week later.
The defendant, who got his moniker because he was well-dressed when he committed the crimes, was arrested New Year's Eve as he tried to cross into the United States from Mexico. He told investigators that he was on his way back to rob the same bank, because he ran out of money, according to Vasel.
